Sentencing delayed for sex offender

Steamboat Springs  Sentencing was delayed Thursday for a 44-year-old man who failed to register as a sex offender.

Anthony Louis Carlson of Steamboat Springs will be sentenced later this month after his attorney, Larry Combs, successfully argued that Carlson's sentencing evaluation was flawed. District Judge Michael O'Hara reluctantly agreed that a misunderstanding by a sentencing evaluator warranted an opportunity to revise the sentencing recommendation.

"This case has been pending way too long," O'Hara said. "It is very disconcerting to me as a judge when someone fails to register as a sex offender. He poses a significant risk by failing to register."

The sentencing evaluation recommended the maximum 24-month jail sentence be imposed on Carlson for failing to register as a sex offender.

But Combs said he contacted the evaluator and confirmed there were inconsistencies and a misunderstanding in the evaluation because of another pending case against Carlson.

Combs said the evaluator thought charges recently brought against Carlson for sexually exploiting children by possessing child pornography were the result of an act he committed since pleading guilty to failing to register as a sex offender, and the evaluator took that into account when recommending the jail sentence.

But the sexually exploiting children charge is related to a past case, not a new one, Combs said.

While awaiting sentencing for failing to register as a sex offender, Carlson was arrested July 7 on suspicion of sexually exploiting children. That arrest came after Colorado Bureau of Investigation officers said they found child pornography on Carlson's computer.

Carlson's computer was seized last summer during an investigation prompted by allegations that he sexually assaulted a child.

The sexual assault charges for which the computer was seized were dismissed in June as part of a plea agreement with the District Attorney's Office.

Carlson pleaded guilty to not registering as a sex offender as part of the plea. Carlson is required to register as a sex offender because of a prior conviction for a sex crime related to a minor.

Carlson is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 30 to face charges of sexual exploitation of a child. Carlson's sentencing for failing to register as a sex offender was moved to 2 p.m. Aug. 17.